Why Do People Give Their Car A Name?
South Africa’s largest general insurer, Santam, recently conducted a survey on over 1 900 car owners with insurance policies. This was in order to determine their level of dependability on their vehicles. Results revealed that almost two-thirds of people consider themselves to be ‘very or extremely attached’ to their cars. Four out of ten have even given their car a name.
South Africans develop an emotional attachment to their vehicle. Losing said vehicle is often much more than just a financial inconvenience. It’s personal. And so, it comes as little surprise that some would choose to name their car.
This writer, for one, has mostly just referred to his car by ‘Car’ or ‘Piece of Trash Opel.’
Some other people have been much more inventive. For instance, I know of at least one Nissan driver who has named their car ‘Liam’. Get it?
What goes into a name, though? We recently had a look at how car manufacturers name their models, but why do we as people feel the need to personify inanimate objects?
Naming Our Car, The Psychology Of Anthropomorphism
In the olden days, we would surely have given our horse a name. Though a car isn’t a living, breathing thing – it moves and serves the same purpose. It is the modern equivalent of a trusty steed.
Therefore we keep it fed and well-maintained and we try our best to look after it. Cars are so important to us that, subconsciously, we begin to treat it the same way we would a person we care about.
We rely on this vehicle to keep us safe, keep our loved ones safe, and get us from point A to point B in one piece. So, it becomes a part of the family.
Many people believe that naming their car comes naturally. We speak to it, we curse it, we plead with it. After a long, gruelling drive, you may even get out, pat the car on the bonnet and say ‘Well done.’
It’s all a part of this strange relationship we cultivate, on the way to work and back, across scenic routes, through the back streets and road trips in the summer. Maybe it has even played a small part in your love life.
By thinking of a nonhuman object in human ways, we render it worthy of our contemplation. In fact, neuroscience research has shown that the brain exhibits similar activity when thinking about the behaviour of both humans and nonhuman entities.
This suggests that anthropomorphism – the tendency to give inanimate entities human characteristics – may be utilizing the same parts of the brain we use when thinking about other people.
Of course, we don’t go around naming every single thing around us, such as the toaster or the espresso machine. That would be crazy. No, there’s something very special about our relationship with transport.
Also read: How do manufacturers name their cars?
The Role Of Gender
According to a survey conducted by 1st For Women, women are more likely to name their cars than men. It could be suggested that because they have a greater bond with their vehicles, they tend to drive more carefully.
When it comes to the name, and gender, most people tend to give their car a name of the opposite sex. Most women will give their car a masculine name while most men will give their car a feminine name and refer to it as a she.
As we’re all aware, ships and boats throughout history have almost exclusively been given feminine names, and referred to in the feminine. Maiden voyage.
There’s a bit of prose that can be found in many a wardroom of U.S. naval ships. Depending on how you look at it, it could be seen as mischievous, or downright offensive. It runs thus:
“A ship is called a she because there is always a great deal of bustle around her; there is usually a gang of men about; she has a waist and stays; it takes a lot of paint to keep her good-looking; it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep; she can be all decked out; it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly; and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely uncontrollable. She shows her topsides, hides her bottom and, when coming into port, always heads for the buoys.”
Right.
An explanation we favour, and often relayed to sailors, is that because women carry life, any vessel that cansustain life in an environment where people could otherwise not normally survive or function without her body should, fittingly, have a feminine name.
Ships without a name are presumed to be cursed, and thought to be barren.
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